News and Information

VISN 8 Patient Safety Center of Inquiry, Tampa

News Items

• Audrey Nelson is honored as Eisenberg Award Recipient
• Patricia Quigley, PhD, MPH, ARNP, CRRN, FAAN, Deputy Director of the VISN 8 Patient Safety Center was named a "Healthcare Hero" by the Tampa Bay Business Journal at an awards ceremony held Oct. 5, 2006 at the Hyatt Regency in Tampa. She was nominated and won the title in the Medical Professional (non-physician) category. Dr. Audrey Nelson and Dr. Tatjana Bulat from the Center were nominated for this award as well.
• The Interprofessional Fellowship Awardees for 2007/2008 are Lelia Barks, ARNP, PhD and Christine Olney, PhD, RN
  • Lee Barks, ARNP, PhD, has interests in postural management of patients with immobility, the nursing/medical interface, and in implementation of solutions that come from root cause analyses. She received a BSN from the University of Virginia, MN from the University of Florida, and has recently completed the doctoral program in nursing at the University of South Florida. For the past twenty-two years she has consulted on federal litigation regarding long term care of persons with disabilities of all ages in fifteen states, and has been admitted as an expert by the US Department of Justice. She has extensive experience with interdisciplinary teams and has most recently held the position of health services specialist at the Patient Safety Center of Inquiry. She has authored publications in Rehabilitation Nursing, numeroous training prorams, and chapters in several textbooks.
  • Christine Olney, PhD, RN, a recent graduate of the University of South Florida College of Nursing was a nurse reeasrch resident during her doctoral program where she gained experience in pressure ulcer prevention and falls prevention. While a research resident, Dr. Olney developed a nursing research office for a large urban hospital and mentored three research projects using technology to improve patient safety. She will use the one year fellowship to gain skills in root cause analysis, healthcare failure mode and effect analysis, along with gaining in-epth knowledge regarding change and maintenance of change intended to support patient safety goals. Dr. Olney plans to continue her work in patient safety once finished with the fellowship
    
• Press Release on Interprofessional Fellowship Award
   
• Patient Safety Fellowship with Application

Mission

The mission of our Center is to support clinicians in providing safe patient care by designing and testing clinical innovations, technological solutions, and patient safety improvement systems.  Our research efforts target two patient populations with compromised mobility:  frail elderly and persons with disabilities.